News

With renewal of the Greek domestic ferry fleet gaining momentum, monohull fast ferries join multihulls on the list of newbuilding orders. If anybody in the Greek ferry business has been dozing, they…

Two years ago, the Spanish orderbook looked very healthy, but the situation is a lot less rosey today. In early 1998 Spanish shipbuilders were boasting a collective orderbook at a 15-year high,…

Generating electrical power at sea imposes challenges on prime mover, alternator and system designers. Electrical power demands on ships were traditionally met by auxiliary diesel gensets running on marine diesel oil. Higher…

The role of class is again under intense scrutiny, particularly in Europe, where pressure for ever-higher standards of shipping is the result of the Erika sinking. Casualties and financial problems aside, Class…

The latest Motor Ship Propulsion Conference in Amsterdam was attended by over 200 people and touched on some controversial subjects. Germanischer Lloyd?s Hans Jacob Gatjens chaired the conference and introduced speakers giving…

A low Nox emmission, gas powered car/passenger ferry looks as though it could be the first of many such vessels in Norway. The first roro/passenger ferry in the world to be powered…

Computer-aided design, engineering and manufacturing systems have become an integral part of shipbuilding operations worldwide over the past decade. Investment in CAD/CAE/CAM technology has now spread to the smaller shipyards, or those…

A project led by Danish consulting naval architects Pelmatic Knud E Hansen could breathe new life into the wind ship concept. In the right circumstances - wind-assisted commercial vessels could be significantly…

The 69,120 dwt Leader L which broke up and sank in under one minute with the loss of 18 of its 31 crew, has reopened the debate about structural failures of bulkers.…

RINa`s report into the loss of Erika concludes that the class society has "substantially complied with the applicable rules, guidelines and procedures." It says the loss of the vessel was caused by…

As shipowners try to place newbuilding orders ahead of expected price rises, Daewoo and Hyundai have closed their books, as their current backlogs will keep the yards busy to 2003. Both yards…

Rolls-Royce is looking to its newly enlarged marine systems division to drive group growth as prospects in its core civil aerospace markets slow. Marine division managing director Bob Sunerton said that following…

German container ship specialist Hapag-Lloyd has gone to Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) in Korea for four 7,200 TEU post-panamax vessels. The first of the ships will be delivered in the third quarter…

Known until now purely as a charterer of container ships, Contship Containerlines has dipped its toe into the newbuildings market for the first time with an order for three 4,115 TEU container…

Carnival, the cruise ship operator, has awarded Fincantieri?s Monfalcone yard an order for a single 110,00g cruise ship, and has instructed the yard to lengthen two similar vessels it already has on…

Emeraude Lines in France has awarded the Fjellstrand shipyard in Norway a contract for a single example of its well-known JumboCat design. The 60m fast ferry is the first newbuilding contract awarded…

Fosen Mekaniske Verksteder is to build a new ropax ferry for operator Troms Fylkes Dampskibsselskap. The newbuilding is scheduled for delivery in early 2002, and will replace an existing Hurtigruten ferry vessel,…

SeaAmerica has formalised its plan to build a pair of 1,000 passenger cruise ships for operation in US waters, and has agreed a Memorandum of Agreement with the Ingalls Shipbuilding division of…

The order for the 185m long vessel also includes an option for a second ship. With a breadth of 28m, the newbuilding will be the largest in the Sea France fleet to…

Astilleros Espanoles (AESA) is to build an initial three LNG carriers for companies contracted to transport gas by Repsol, the Spanish oil company, and could also receive firm contracts for three more…